Scam Awareness For Seniors

to pick up under any circumstances. If they are legitimately wanting to talk to me and I don’t answer, they’ll leave a message. Based on the advice from my bank I have realised that the only information scammers have is what I give them,’ explains Rebecca.

‘So next time, and we all know there will be a next time, I’m going to ask for name and staff number and then say that if I have an account or file with them to please put a note about the call in my file and then hang up. I’ll do my own Google search for the best number to call back on and when I speak to someone I will check that there is a note about the call and go from there.’

Australians loose hundreds of millions of dollars every year to scammers, and that amount is only around 40 percent of the total that scammers get away with.

‘I like to think of myself as scam aware, but they almost had me,’ said Rebecca Hainsworth, talking about her recent near miss with a scam phone call. The scammers went away empty handed from this call but they are getting better and more believable all the time.

In a funny twist, Rebecca, who works for The Community Place neighbourhood centres, was getting ready to publicise a workshop for seniors focusing on scam awareness. The workshop will be held on Tuesday, July 18 at The Community Place, Stafford (33 Teevan Street).

It will be an informative hour covering current scams, the tricks scammers use to make us believe them, the things they do to get your information and what they can do with it once they have it.

‘Next time, if I don’t recognise the number I am not going

If you are interested in the Seniors Scam Awareness Workshop, to find out more, or if you would like to book a place, contact the centre on 3857 1152.

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